Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

USC Scientists Identify Enzyme Important In Short-Term Memory

Date:

November 13, 1998

Source:

University Of Southern California

Summary:

An enzyme that fails to get activated in patients with Alzheimer's disease may play a broader role in normal memory, report USC neuroscientists Zoltan Tokes, Ph.D., and Giselle Lim, Ph.D., at the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Los Angeles.

Share This

An enzyme that fails to get activated in patients with Alzheimer's disease may play a broader role in normal memory, report USC neuroscientists Zoltan Tokes, Ph.D., and Giselle Lim, Ph.D., at the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Los Angeles today.

Related Articles

In 1996, Tokes showed that an enzyme produced by neurons in the hippocampus, a region of the brain important in short term memory and learning, was inactive in Alzheimer's patients.

The inactivity of the enzyme persisted despite a greater amount of the enzyme, called matrix metalloproteinase-9 or MMP-9, being produced in the neurons of people with Alzheimer's. In healthy brains, investigators believe MMP-9 acts to help digest and clear away proteins that may accumulate around the nerve cells and interfere with their function.

The team hypothesized that the inactive MMP-9 found in Alzheimer's patients might explain the build-up of characteristic protein plaques found in these patients. Now, Tokes and colleagues say that the inactivated enzyme might also explain the loss of memory seen in Alzheimer's patients.

Tokes' collaborators, cancer researchers Zena Werb and Tienna Vu at U.C. San Francisco, created a transgenic mouse that was missing a gene for the MMP-9 enzyme. Using a standard memory assay, Tokes and Lim then showed that the "knockout" mice had impaired memory. The finding supports the USC team's idea that inactivity of the MMP-9 enzyme may contribute to the memory impairment seen in patients with Alzheimer's.

More From ScienceDaily

More Mind & Brain News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — It appears that stress markers in unemployed people can be found, independent of smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight/obesity. Results from a study suggest that long-term unemployment may be ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — On the heels of an American nationwide measles outbreak comes a report that campaigns aimed at scaring people about the consequences of non-vaccination might not be as effective as many think. ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms, a study has found, but authors suggest that doctors are often too quick to attribute these ... full story

Related Stories

Feb. 5, 2015 — New research shows that the body's immune system may be able to clear the brain of toxic plaque build-up that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, reversing memory loss and brain cell ... full story

Nov. 16, 2010 — People with Alzheimer's disease exhibit striking structural changes in the caudate nucleus, a brain structure typically associated with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, a new ... full story

May 25, 2010 — Researchers have zeroed in on a protein that may play a role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The team found that increasing levels of the protein prevented the accumulation of an ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.